Tool for sensor management and fault visualization in machine condition monitoring

1. A method of managing a plurality of sensors comprising:

displaying a fault status of each sensor in the plurality of sensors in a single display, wherein the display includes a plot comprising a continuous time axis along which data estimates or data residuals computed on the basis of a statistical model of at least one of the sensors are plotted, and wherein, if a fault occurs for a particular sensor in the plurality of sensors, the fault status indicates a time when the fault occurred for the particular sensor and a duration of the fault for the particular sensor;

providing a mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors; and

categorizing each fault in the fault status using one or more categorizing criteria.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors is an active link that permits a user to access the link to examine the details of the sensor.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the details that are examined are selected from data from the sensor, estimates for the sensor, residuals of the sensor, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the categorizing criteria are selected from a type of sensor at fault, a type of fault, a severity of the fault, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the type of sensor at fault is selected from an input sensor, an output sensor, an independent sensor, or a dependent sensor.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the type of fault is selected from an out-of-range fault, an actual fault, a sign of the fault, or a combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

permitting an alarm to be activated if one or more sensors is displaying a fault.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the step of:

providing a mechanism for testing each sensor in the plurality of sensors.

9. A machine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having a plurality of code sections, said code sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:

displaying a fault status of each sensor in the plurality of sensors in a single display, wherein the display includes a plot comprising a continuous time axis along which data estimates or data residuals computed on the basis of a statistical model of at least one of the sensors are plotted, and wherein, if a fault occurs for a particular sensor in the plurality of sensors, the fault status indicates a time when the fault occurred for the particular sensor and a duration of the fault for the particular sensor;

providing a mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors; and

categorizing each fault in the fault status using one or more categorizing criteria.

10. The machine-readable storage of claim 9 , wherein the mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors is an active link that permits a user to access the link to examine the details of the sensor.

11. The machine-readable storage of claim 10 , wherein the details that are examined are selected from data from the sensor, estimates for the sensor, residuals of the sensor, or a combination thereof.

12. The machine-readable storage of claim 9 , wherein the categorizing criteria are selected from a type of sensor at fault, a type of fault, a severity of the fault, or a combination thereof.

13. The machine-readable storage of claim 12 , wherein the type of sensor at fault is selected from an input sensor, an output sensor, an independent sensor, or a dependent sensor.

14. The machine-readable storage of claim 12 , wherein the type of fault is selected from an out-of-range fault, an actual fault, a sign of the fault, or a combination thereof.

15. The machine-readable storage of claim 9 , wherein the machine-readable storage is able to perform the step of permitting an alarm to be activated if one or more sensors is displaying a fault.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the machine-readable storage is able to perform the step of providing a mechanism for testing each sensor in the plurality of sensors.

17. A system for managing a plurality of sensors comprising:

a display for displaying a fault status of each sensor in the plurality of sensors, wherein the display is configured to include a plot comprising a continuous time axis along which data estimates or data residuals computed on the basis of a statistical model of at least one of the sensors are plotted, and wherein, if a fault occurs for a particular sensor in the plurality of sensors, a fault status for the particular sensor indicates a time when the fault occurred and a duration of the fault;

a mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors; and

a system for categorizing each fault in the fault status using one or more categorizing criteria.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the mechanism for examining details of each sensor in the plurality of sensors is an active link that is capable of permitting a user to access the link to examine the details of the sensor.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the details that are examined are selected from data from the sensor, estimates for the sensor, residuals of the sensor, or a combination thereof.

20. The system of claim 17 , wherein the categorizing criteria are selected from a type of sensor at fault, a type of fault, a severity of the fault, or a combination thereof.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the type of sensor at fault is selected from an input sensor, an output sensor, an independent sensor, or a dependent sensor.

22. The system of claim 20 , wherein the type of fault is selected from an out-of-range fault, an actual fault, a sign of the fault, or a combination thereof.

23. The system of claim 17 , further comprising an alarm.

24. The system of claim 17 , further comprising a mechanism for testing each sensor in the plurality of sensors.